Apparatus for molding fiber bobbins.



PATENTED AUG. 13, 1907.

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APPARATUS FOR MOLDING FIBER BOBBINS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

Application filed September 21,1905. Serial No. 279.451.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HENRY THoMPsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Molding Fiber Bobbins, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to bobbins or spools for use in silk machinery, and my object is to provide a bobbin or spool of a one piece or integral structure which will present to the silk smooth surfaces even after long continued use, thus preventing catching or breaking of the silk on rough spots, as frequently happens with the forms of bobbins now in use.

The bobbins as at present constructed are made up of a number of parts, among which are the heads and the barrels which are united together and by reason of this structure the heads after continued use, get loose from the barrels. The barrels are apt to crack if they get wet, the members being made of wood or wood and fiber present after use, worn places upon which the silk will catch and break. Further, the bobbins now in use will not stand extremely high or extremely low temperature either in water or in air, and by reason of the structure consisting of the plurality of members the bobbin will after use, get out of true and tend to wabble. I have sought to provide a one piece or integral bobbin having a barrel and heads made out of indurated fiber. By this construction no joints are present in the structure and the surface is smooth throughout the barrel and the heads and the point of juncture between the head and the barrel so that there is no'liability of the silk catching and breaking.

In the accompanying drawings I show an apparatus for producing the one piece fiber bobbin, the said drawing being a central vertical section of the apparatus.

In this machine the mold consists of a cylindrical portion 1, which at its ends merges into enlarged cylindrical portions 2. In these enlarged portions plungers 3 are adapted to work axially, the said plungers being operated from a right and left hand screw threaded rod 4, having its bearing in the frame parts 5, with the screw threaded portions engaging the upwardly extending arms 6 of the plungers 3. The screw threaded shaft or rod is operated in any suitable manner as by a gear wheel 7. In each of'the plungers 3, there bein g one for each end of the mold, a cylindrical valve 8 is arranged, having ports 9, through which the pulp material may pass into the enlarged portions 2 of the mold. These valves have shoulders 10 adapted to abut against shoulders 11 on the plungers. The valves are adapted to be rotated by handles 12. The pulp is fed to the apparatus through pipes 13, which connect with the hollow valve 8. When the mold is filled with the pulp the handles 12 are given a half turn to close the piston or cylindrical valve 8, and at the same time the openings 9 are closed and the piston valves scat themselves by means of their shoulders 10 against the shoulders 11 of the plungers. The gear 7 is then operated, rotating the shaft 4, and through the screw threads moving the plungers 3 together with the piston valves towards each other, thus compressing the pulp in the cylindrical portion 1, of the mold to form the barrel, and also compressing the pulp in the enlarged portions 2 in order to form the heads of the bobbin. 14 indicates the spindle that makes the opening through the bobbin.

I have found by experiment that the mold must be drained in a certain way and that it is not practicable to drain the heads of the bobbin the same as the barrel or body, as the mold will choke up on both ends and leave the body of the spool too damp and wet to hold together. The heads of the spool need no draining and all of the Water must be carried off through the center of the bobbin or spool or the body thereof. In order therefore, to properly drain the mold I have provided a series of openings through the cylindrical portion 1,

' as indicated at 15 so that all of the drainage will take place through the center of the bobbin and the body thereof, and no drainage through the head. I have also found that the best results are obtained by using a pulp composed of certain ingredients.

In carrying out my invention I use casein, arabol, alum and Waste paper beaten up in hot water of the temperature of 140 F. I use these ingredients in substantially the proportions of 5 lbs of casein, 5 lbs of arabol, 5 lbs of alum to 200 lbs of waste paper. The casein and arabol are sizings and the alum is used to set these sizings to the pulp and leave the water clear. With this mixture I find that the bobbin will not check or crack when dried, which is the case where other compositions with which I have experimented. The mixture is soluble in hot water and is beaten up with the pulp in the first stage of the process of manufacture.

My invention has material advantages over other forms of bobbins, for instance when made from one piece of wood they do not long hold their shape or balance, for they warp and shrink out of shape and crack open. In order to prevent this, resort has been made to making the bobbin of a number of pieces, from 3 to 5 glued together. This causes them to hold their shape and balance much better, but it still leaves a joint between the head and barrelwhich, while almost imperceptible to the eye and to the touch it affords a sufficient crevice or roughness into which the line silk enters, thereby causing snarls and breakage. With this form of bobbin the edge of the head easily becomes dented and roughened so as to catch and break the slender thread causing loss of production as well as waste of the goods.

In order to operate the valve, the handle 12 is attached to a ring l2 which turns loosely on the frame. It is held in place by a collar 12. By turning the handle a pin 13 on the ring works in a groove 14 in the cylindrical portion of the valve, which groove is inclined, and thus the valve is operated longitudinally.

In finishing the spools I dip them in a bath of Waterproof filter, then in a water-proof baking enamel material and then I remove them from this bath and polish them in any suitable manner.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a mold, the two plungers operating towards and from each other and at Opposite ends of the said mold and the two feeds for supplying the mold with the material, substantially as described.

2. In combination, a mold, a pair of plungers, one at each end of the mold, operating towards and from each other, and means for feeding the material through each of the plungers, substantially as described.

1%. In combination, a mold, a pair of plungers, one at each end of the mold and operating towards each other to compress the material in the mold, a valve in each plun ger and means for feeding material to each of the plungers to be controlled by the said valve, substantially as described.

-t. In combination, a mold, a supply pipe for the material, a plunger, a valve carried by the plunger and having its face adapted to form a continuation of the face of the plunger when the valve is seated, means for operating the plunger, means for projecting the valve in relation to the plungers and means [or feeding the material to the valve. said valve opening the inlet port when proses,472

jected and closing said port when in a position to form a continuation of the face of said plunger, substantially as described.

5. In combination, a mold, a hollow plunger, a hollow valve therein having lateral ports, said valve having movement longitudinally of the plunger to position said lateral ports beyond the face of the plunger or to cut off the supply of material and having its face adapted to form a continuation of the face of the plunger when in closed position, substantially as described.

(3. In combination, a mold, a hollow plunger, a hollow valve normally projected beyond the plunger, having lateral port or ports, means for turning the valve to retract it and close the ports, the face of said valve when retracted forming-a continuation of the face of the plunger, sub stantially as described.

7. In combination, a mold having enlarged portions at the ends for the heads of the bobbin and a reduced central portion for the body of the bobbin, and means for draining only the reduced central portion of the mold, substantially as described.

S. In combination in a molding machine, a stationary mold, means for admitting material in a plastic state into the mold, and meansfor compressing the material within the mold by plungers entering the mold from opposite directions. each plunger having a member concentric therewith adapted to operate independently thereof and conjointly therewith, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM HENRY THOMPSON.

Witnesses '1. Y. HUFFMAN, M. L. I'lU'lCIIlNSON. 

